Dreams of a Returned Darkness
by Amethyst Amber
Summary: Kenshin is having horrible dreams, realizing the Battousai wants to be free. When he's called to help capture a new villain, and needs Kaoru to act as his wife for a cover, Battousai fights harder than ever. Can Kenshin control his other half?
1. A Lost Cry in the Night

The pitter-patter of feet echoed through the dojo, fleeing the soft, resounding, and much calmer steps.

The running footsteps stopped; a dead end…

The calm steps came closer…

A lone plea of mercy was whispered.

"Onegai…"

The only response was the ominous hiss of a katana being drawn. The fear in its victims eyes only made it long…

…for blood…

The piercing, unintelligible scream reverberated around the halls, until it was cruelly ended and a light thud was heard.

The only sounds were soft, resounding, and calm steps, walking away from the growing smell of blood.

Echoes of the anguished wail still bounced around, chilling the night and everyone else.

And amber eyes flashed in desire, a desire that was met.

Violet eyes shot open and the small redhead sat up. Sweat was pouring down his body, as if he'd run 20 miles. His breathing was irregular and it took several minutes for him to calm down. His nimble fingers were wrapped around a sakabatou that had been resting on his shoulder as he slept sitting up. His grip tightened, as if to make sure it was there…as if the mere presence of it relieved him.

…which it did…

He closed his eyes, hiding their unusual but beautiful color. His brow wrinkled in thought as he tried to remember what the hitokiri.

However, his dreams decided to toy with him tonight. The images of the killer and victim were so blurred he could just barely see their gender, much less who they were. And while he did not know who the girl victim was, the male hitokiri looked oddly familiar.

His eyes opened again, but you could not see his eyes for the blood red hair that fell over them. The moon shone through the shoji door, and even though he was inside, caused a sort of light red halo to descend upon his head.

However, even if he was repenting, the former Hitokiri Battousai was no angel.

The man shook his head. This was no time to be thinking about his past as Battousai.

The small man stood up, and anyone who didn't know him would have laughed aloud at the thought. This small, short, and relatively weak looking man was the legendary Hitokiri Battousai that killed hundreds?

Yeah, right…

Until they saw him in battle. He moved with grace and agility, a deadly combination in skilled hands. And he was one of the best swordsmen in the world, said to be invincible.

The man smiled ruefully at himself. He said he should not be thinking of the Battousai, yet here he was.

Grabbing the sakabatou, he quickly tied it to his waist in a way so that it was almost hidden in the folds of his hakama. He pulled his dark red hair into a low pony-tail and opened the shoji quietly.

Maybe a walk would clear his head.

Or not…

…maybe it would make things worse.

He walked slowly, in no hurry to get back to sleep. The cool night's wind swept across his face, chilling the sweat still there. He strolled around, not really paying attention to where he was going. His feet made no sound upon the dewy grass, and he walked in complete silence. Until…

…until he heard a soft sigh, a sigh of lost dreams and worlds. Looking up from his feet, he saw a young woman sitting under a tree, still in her yukata. A smile quirked his lips.

'Kaoru…' he thought to himself. Thinking he had woken her, he made his way towards her to apologize. A small smile was all the acknowledgement she gave him. She appeared to be as deeply immersed in her thoughts as he had been. Raising an eyebrow he stared at her.

"Kaoru-dono? Are you alright?"

These words seemed to snap her out of her stupor. Her bright blue eyes swung around to meet his violet ones.

"I'm fine. Just couldn't sleep. I had most horrible dream."

Her eyes snapped away from him, and she turned back to stare into nothingness. _She_ remembered her dream.

She ran faster than she ever had before. She growled in frustration as she heard his calm steps behind.

She stopped; a dead end, damn it.

She swung around just in time to see him come around the corner. He had an almost amused smile on his face. There was an amber glare of desire for something in his normally purple. His red hair seemed even darker, giving him an evil appearance.

"Onegai…" she pleaded.

She didn't want to die like this, not by his sword. He pulled his blade out and smirked. Her last dying scream was wrenched through her lips, and it echoed through the halls.

"KENSHIN!"

And then she woke up.

How's that for a first chapter? I would really appreciate any help! Because I have this Japanese glossary and am hoping I get everything okay..

Onegai: Please.

Yukata: sleeping robe

PLEASE REVIEW!

I love Kenshin! This will probably not be a Kaoru/Battousai story. CUZ I LOVE THE RUROUNI!


	2. An Interesting Development

2. An Interesting Development

"…ru!"

Kaoru blinked, brought out of her musings of her dream by a shout, and Kenshin's hand currently waving in front of her face. She turned towards him with a half awed and half smirking face.

"You didn't say -dono," she pointed out to him.

A light blush appeared on his face. 'Kenshin no baka!' he admonished himself.

"Ano…gomen nasai, Kaoru-dono…" he ignored her pout at the return of -dono and continued, "You seemed a little afraid. What were you thinking of?"

She frowned slightly, waving her hand as if to brush her problems away.

"It was just a dream Kenshin. Nothing more."

He cocked his head to the side, and was about to ask her what it was about. She blinked at him and decided to draw his attention from her dream.

"Kenshin…would you ever hurt us? Me, Yahiko, Sano, Megumi…all our friends. Even if Battousai came back to the surface, would you?"

His violet orbs held confusion for a moment. Shaking his head, he looked at her, determination showing.

"Ice…never."

Kaoru gave a sort of strangled laugh and threw herself at him, hugging him tightly. He nearly fell back in surprise, and slowly wrapped his arms around her.

"Don't ever hurt us Kenshin. Onegai…"

Kenshin blinked against the raven hair in his face,

"Never…" he repeated, hoping to calm the girl in his arms.

Giving that same strange laugh, she pulled away, wiping her eyes. Kenshin sighed, and felt his fists tighten.

She had a dream where he hurt her. Where Battousai hurt her.

O.O

Would he ever hurt her, even as Battousai? He doubted that. Even Battousai had grown fond of the makeshift family that had sheltered and loved him.

He promised he wouldn't hurt her, and that was a promise he was going to keep.

He sat down against the wall, his sakabatou leaning on his shoulder. Years of sleeping like this had made it a habit. His red hair fell over violet eyes that slowly closed as he rested his head.

Before he went to sleep, Kenshin prayed to Kami-sama for a dreamless sleep.

Unfortunately for our dear rurouni, Kami-sama wasn't listening that night.

O.O

(AN: I know you're probably getting tired of this dream, but this is the last time it will make its appearance.)

He saw the girl running, her dark hair fanning behind her. It was as if he were the audience of some strange, dark play.

The pitter-patter of her feet echoed through the dojo. He blinked as he heard soft, resounding, and calm steps nearing them.

He watched as the girl stopped. It was a dead end.

His eyes widened further. He knew this. He cursed as his dream continued, seeing the dark haired man come around the corner.

The girl (Kaoru, he now saw) turned around, a fierce light in her eyes. The steps stopped.

Amber eyes narrowed at her, ignoring Kenshin, even though he was standing a foot away from Kaoru.

Kenshin drew a deep breath and readied himself.

…wasn't she supposed to plead for her life?

The staring match continued, neither looking away. Then Kaoru broke the silence, bright blue eyes glaring at his gold ones in defiance.

"I know you're in there Kenshin."

The real Kenshin blinked. This wasn't his dream. No…this was different.

"You promised you wouldn't hurt us. Promised you wouldn't hurt me. You promised…"

O.O

When Kenshin woke up that morning, the her words echoed through his head.

"_You promised…"_

Could he control Battousai and keep his promise? He was so sure yesterday. But now…

…now he wasn't sure.

O.O

Our purple-eyed rurouni was diligently doing the laundry outside when a certain rooster head came in. Pulling a strand of red hair out of the washtub, Kenshin glanced up.

"Ohayou, Sanosuke."

The taller man grinned down on him.

"Why, hello Kenshin. I've got a letter here for you…well, it sort of involves Jou-chan too, but its initially for you."

Blinking, Kenshin stood up and pulled the letter from the large envelope. Opening it, his eyes skimmed the words and widened with each passing moment.

"Oro…" and with that wonderful word, the letter slipped from his hand to the ground, leaving our dear rurouni staring into space with a confused look on his face.

O.O

Fwa…new chapter. Sorry about the last one, the dividing screwed up on me. -mutters-

Any reviews would be nice! Ones that will help me, preferably. I don't want you saying, "Well that sucked." and expect me to fix it.

Arigatou!


	3. Newfound Problems

AN: Ew...I was reading over my past chapters and realized that my writing skills sucked majorly. I'm going to be giving it my all from now on! Oh! And, I'm doing an Inu/Kag story. It needs a little tweaking before I post it, but you can view the summary in my profile.

* * *

Sanosuke smirked. This was going to be fun to watch. Right now, the famous Hitokiri Battousai was kneeling on the ground, a stunned, and yet angry look on his face. His eyes were closed, but you couldn't tell that from the blood red hair that spilled over his lowered head. His breathing was deep, as if he were telling himself to calm down.

This was going to be _very _fun to watch.

Sano rolled his eyes before stooping and grabbing Kenshin below the arms and hoisting him to his feet. The rurouni opened his eyes, muttering under his breathe about idiots as Sanosuke took a step back.

Kenshin's eyes were laced with amber.

Sanosuke tapped Kenshin hesitantly on the shoulder. When normal violet (well, as normal as purple eyes can be) turned to meet him, he sighed in relief.

"Calm down Kenshin! Its not that big of a deal! You go to Kyoto with Kaoru acting as your w-"

Kenshin slapped a hand over Sano's mouth, looking towards the gate. A moment later, it opened to show a humming Kaoru, a few groceries in her arms. Sano rolled his eyes once again and pulled Kenshin's hand off his mouth.

"Kenshin," he whispered lightly, "You're going to have to tell her sometime. You can just invite her on some vacation or something and then on the way say 'Oh yeah! By the way, Kaoru, you're supposed to act like my-"

"Like his what?" Kaoru's innocent voice floated towards them, making both men wince.

"Ano…Kaoru-dono…ah…"

"Yes Kenshin?" She stared at the two, a hint of impatience in her voice.

"Ano…ah…"

She was definitely getting frustrated. Sano smirked and picked up the letter, handing it to the girl.

"Its all in this letter, Jou-chan."

Kenshin glared at the grinning man and cringed as she took the rather wet letter. He mentally and physically prepared himself for the outburst. Kaoru would be offended, angry at whoever had sent this letter, and probably embarrassed.

"So?"

Kenshin opened one eye hesitantly. 'So?' She was calmly folding the letter up.

"You…are not upset?"

She glanced up, a confused look on her face that bewildered him, and cocked her head.

"Mind that I'm going to act like your wife? Not at all. If its going to help capture this man. Better me that conniving kitsune."

Her bright blue eyes narrowed and Sano pushed her good naturedly.

"So…you're okay with this, Kaoru-dono?"

She nodded and he relaxed, only a little. He frowned slightly, staring at nothing.

"Why do I need you to come as my wife? I would rather not endanger you, de gozaru."

Kaoru pouted, gritting her teeth. Sighing, she shook her head.

"Did you not read the letter through? You're going as a delegate. This man is rumored to be at the conference in Kyoto, and you can get closer to the man by acting as one. Most of these men have wives, and it will help with your disguise.

Kenshin stared at her with a gaping mouth. She looked far from upset. In fact, she looked…happy.

"Why am I needed? Surely there is…some _real _delegate who can handle this!"

Sanosuke grinned and pointed at the sky.

"Cause someone up there hates you."

Kaoru promptly smacked him and turned to face Kenshin.

"You're known far and wide for your skills, Kenshin! You've defeated some of the worlds strongest swordsmen, and this would be easy for you."

Kenshin slumped slightly. He was upset, and angry…yet…there was a feeling in him. A rather happy one. A picture of Kaoru by his side appeared in his mind and he blushed slightly.

"So _sweetheart," _Kaoru said, teasing him, "go pack. We're supposed to be ready to leave in two days."

Kenshin pouted and crossed his arms.

"But what if I don't want to go and be some delegate? I could be putting you in serious danger, Kaoru-dono."

Kaoru sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Kenshin, I thought you said that you were going to devote your life to helping the innocent and protecting the weak. Finding and stopping this guy will help save a lot of people. Onegai…"

She looked at him with her big, blue, pleading eyes, and he caved. Sighing, he nodded. Kaoru grinned and threw herself at him, knocking them both over and into the tub.

"ORO!"

"EEP!"

Sano grinned, shaking his head as he walked for the gate.

"Have a nice time, you two! Don't run off and get eloped!"

A furious shriek and a weak 'Oro..' was heard from the depths of the tub, and Sano laughingly ran out of the yard.

* * *

Well, what do you think? I hope its okay!

I've got a request! Help me think of a good Japanese name for our mysterious bad guy! I want it to be…good. Very good for him. Its going to be an original bad guy, so no names off the show, please.

ARIGATOU!

Kenshin: -is sopping wet- Chee-dono!

Chee: -grins- Yes?

Kenshin: Was it really necessary to dump us in a tub?

Chee:…

Kenshin: Chee-dono!

Chee: Couldn't help it! -smirk-

AGAIN: Much love for all my reviewers! -holds up peace sign- And please please read the summary for my Inu/Kag story and tell me if you like it, kay?


End file.
